119-s825

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 825 Introduced in Senate

    (IS) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 S. 825

 To require the Attorney General to propose a program for making 
treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and acute stress disorder 
 available to public safety officers, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

 March 4, 2025

 Mr. Grassley (for himself, Mr. Coons, Mr. Young, Ms. Hassan, Mr. 
Hawley, Mr. Blumenthal, Mrs. Blackburn, Mr. Ossoff, Ms. Ernst, and Mr. 
 Warnock) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
 referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To require the Attorney General to propose a program for making 
treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and acute stress disorder 
 available to public safety officers, and for other purposes.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``Fighting Post-Traumatic Stress 
Disorder Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

 Congress finds the following:

    (1) Public safety officers serve their communities with 
 bravery and distinction in order to keep their communities 
 safe.

    (2) Public safety officers, including police officers, 
 firefighters, emergency medical technicians, and 911 
 dispatchers, are on the front lines of dealing with situations 
 that are stressful, graphic, harrowing, and life-threatening.

    (3) The work of public safety officers puts them at risk 
 for developing post-traumatic stress disorder and acute stress 
 disorder.

    (4) It is estimated that 30 percent of public safety 
 officers develop behavioral health conditions at some point in 
 their lifetimes, including depression and post-traumatic stress 
 disorder, in comparison to 20 percent of the general population 
 that develops such conditions.

    (5) Victims of post-traumatic stress disorder and acute 
 stress disorder are at a higher risk of dying by suicide.

    (6) Firefighters have been reported to have higher suicide 
 attempt and ideation rates than the general population.

    (7) It is estimated that between 125 and 300 police 
 officers die by suicide every year.

    (8) In 2019, pursuant to 

section 2

    (b) of the Law 
 Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act of 2017 (Public Law 
 115-113; 131 Stat. 2276), the Director of the Office of 
 Community Oriented Policing Services of the Department of 
 Justice developed a report (referred to in this section as the 
 ``LEMHWA report'') that expressed that many law enforcement 
 agencies do not have the capacity or local access to the mental 
 health professionals necessary for treating their law 
 enforcement officers.

    (9) The LEMHWA report recommended methods for establishing 
 remote access or regional mental health check programs at the 
 State or Federal level.

    (10) Individual police and fire departments generally do 
 not have the resources to employ full-time mental health 
 experts who are able to treat public safety officers with 
 state-of-the-art techniques for the purpose of treating job-
 related post-traumatic stress disorder and acute stress 
 disorder.

SEC. 3. PROGRAMMING FOR POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER.

    (a) 

=== Definitions. ===
-In this section:

    (1) Public safety officer.--The term ``public safety 
 officer''--
        (A) has the meaning given the term in 

section 1204 
 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 
 Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10284); and
        (B) includes Tribal public safety officers.

    (2) Public safety telecommunicator.--The term ``public 
 safety telecommunicator'' means an individual who--
        (A) operates telephone, radio, or other 
 communication systems to receive and communicate 
 requests for emergency assistance at 911 public safety 
 answering points and emergency operations centers;
        (B) takes information from the public and other 
 sources relating to crimes, threats, disturbances, acts 
 of terrorism, fires, medical emergencies, and other 
 public safety matters; and
            (C) coordinates and provides information to law 
 enforcement and emergency response personnel.

    (b) Report.--Not later than 150 days after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Attorney General, acting through the Director of the 
Office of Community Oriented Policing Services of the Department of 
Justice, shall submit to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate 
and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives a 
report on--

    (1) not fewer than 1 proposed program, if the Attorney 
 General determines it appropriate and feasible to do so, to be 
 administered by the Department of Justice for making state-of-
 the-art treatments or preventative care available to public 
 safety officers and public safety telecommunicators with regard 
 to job-related post-traumatic stress disorder or acute stress 
 disorder by providing public safety officers and public safety 
 telecommunicators access to evidence-based trauma-informed 
 care, peer support, counselor services, and family supports for 
 the purpose of treating or preventing post-traumatic stress 
 disorder or acute stress disorder;

    (2) a draft of any necessary grant conditions required to 
 ensure that confidentiality is afforded to public safety 
 officers on account of seeking the care or services described 
 in paragraph

    (1) under the proposed program;

    (3) how each proposed program described in paragraph

    (1) could be most efficiently administered throughout the United 
 States at the State, Tribal, territorial, and local levels, 
 taking into account in-person and telehealth capabilities;

    (4) a draft of legislative language necessary to authorize 
 each proposed program described in paragraph

    (1) ; and

    (5) an estimate of the amount of annual appropriations 
 necessary for administering each proposed program described in 
 paragraph

    (1) .
            (c) Development.--In developing the report required under 
subsection

    (b) , the Attorney General shall consult relevant 
stakeholders, including--

    (1) Federal, State, Tribal, territorial, and local agencies 
 employing public safety officers and public safety 
 telecommunicators; and

    (2) non-governmental organizations, international 
 organizations, academies, or other entities, including 
 organizations that support the interests of public safety 
 officers and public safety telecommunicators and the interests 
 of family members of public safety officers and public safety 
 telecommunicators.
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